Breast and cervical cancer are the most common causes of cancer mortality in women worldwide. Through cervical cancer screening precancerous changes can be detected which might lead to cancer if left untreated. Early detection of cervical cancer increases the chance of successful treatment. In rural areas cervical cancer is often detected in advanced stages when it becomes incurable. Accessibility of healthcare by women in rural areas is often compromised due to sociocultural, economic and environmental barriers. A study conducted by South Asian Journal of Cancer interviewed 281 women from rural India on their general cancer knowledge. It was found that only 16% of 281 women were aware about the warning signs of cervical cancer (Tripathi et al., 2014).

Among the focus areas of Swasthya Sawari, screening of three types of most common cancers (oral, breast and cervical cancer) is one. Women are mobilized and motivated to get the screening for cervical and breast cancer done leaving behind the social stigmas associated with it. Since VIA test is not a confirmatory test for cervical cancer screening, therefore a special camp for Pap-smear test of cervical cancer suspects found at Swasthya Sawari camp was organized with the support of Gumla district authorities at Kamdara CHC. The suspects were mobilized with the support of Sahiya and were provided transportation facility to the CHC by Swasthya Sawari. 16 women underwent the Pap-smear test, but fortunately none of them were found positive.

Timely screening for cervical cancer is important to reduce the mortality caused by cervical cancer. We are grateful to our partners- Government of Jharkhand, Rockefeller Foundation, Give, BCG, USAID, Jhpiego and Nishtha for supporting us to take cervical cancer screening facility closer to the hard-to-reach communities of Jharkhand.